Chris Toy
My name is Chris Toy; I was born and raised near the town of Sherrett in rural Armstrong County Pennsylvania, not far from the Allegheny River. A lot of my time during my youth was spent fishing the river for walleye and smallmouth bass and hunting for deer and various small game throughout the surrounding countryside. My early hunting career focused mainly on rifle hunting for deer and chasing rabbits with beagles alongside my father and grandfather. Later on in my teens I got very heavily involved in archery, both hunting and tournament shooting.
My introduction to waterfowl hunting came later on in life after the company I was working for offered me another position near New Castle, PA. Wile attending Church one Sunday morning I got to talking to one of the church members and the discussion turned to hunting, he mentioned that he was a waterfowl hunter and offered to take me along. I accepted the offer and have been addicted ever since.
Decoy carving seemed like a natural progression to waterfowl hunting for me, I had been woodworking since I was twelve years old and had most of the tools necessary to carve a block of wood. Another member of the same church found out that I was interested in carving and offered me a band sawn block of basswood and a pattern for a decorative ruddy duck. The carving and painting were nothing to brag about but it started me down the path and I have enjoyed most every day of the journey.
Although I have experimented with cork and other types of wood, most of the decoys I carve are made from hollow cedar. I have recently made the switch from acrylics to oil paints. My birds are all gunning ready, they are sealed prior to painting and have weighted keels added to make them self right, but they are also made with competition in mind. Eventually I would like to expand my list of competitions but for now the main decoy shows I participate in are the Wildfowlers contest in Westlake Oh., and the Pymatuning waterfowl expo in Linesville Pa.
I am always happy to help any one interested in carving in any way I can so if you have any questions feel free to contact me.